Incentivizing achievement

By: 
Ron Burtz

It started with donuts.
Now this week Custer High School Principal Tobey Cass is shifting into second gear in his experiment in positive re-enforcement. He is doing that by handing out gift cards to students who have not had a late or missing assignment in the first semester of this school year and have thus stayed off the school’s ICU radar screen.
Operating under the old adage that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, when Cass took over the reins as principal at the beginning of this school year he decided to reward students for positive behaviors in hopes of incentivizing completed work.
“We found we were spending more time on students who didn’t have their stuff done,” said Cass, “and not focusing enough of our time on kids who were doing what they were supposed to be doing.”
So at the beginning of the school year Cass got a box of 20 donuts each Thursday and handed them out in classrooms where all the students were in class on time and with their schoolwork caught up. Sometimes he took them to the first period, known as Wildcat Time, which is mandatory for students who have past due assignments and optional for those who don’t. In that case, Cass looked for classrooms where there were a number of students working on catching up their assignments or several who were there voluntarily doing class work.
The sweet treats, donated by Lynn’s Dakotamart and Baker’s Bakery (when they’re open), turned out to be a popular incentive with students and have even provoked some friendly peer pressure among students to help the classroom qualify for the reward.
“Who doesn’t like a donut?” he asked.
Cass explains that the reward program—which he has not yet officially named—is intended to keep students off the school’s ICU program—a digital database which tracks student assignments and alerts teachers and parents when a student has incomplete or late work.
The name of the nationwide program is obviously borrowed from hospital intensive care units, but Cass prefers to think of it more as “I See You.” He views it as a way to say to students that staff is paying attention to their progress and is standing by to help keep them from slipping through the cracks.
With the success of the donut days, Cass began working on the second phase of his program by putting together a list of about 60 students who had stayed off the ICU list for the entire first semester. Then he polled those students as to what kind of gift cards they might want as rewards.  
“The kids obviously like to drink coffee,” laughed Cass as he ticked off the list gift cards requested by the students. Other types of local businesses on the list included ice cream shops, restaurants and even grocery and variety stores.
With his wish list in hand, along with cash donations from Custer Rotary Club, Bill Naugle Memorial Fund and Custer Youth and Alumni Foundation, Cass hit the streets and began buying the gift cards he needed.
Noting that the school asks a lot of the community, Cass wanted the money to stay local. In his visits with local merchants, Cass asked them if they would consider donating extra gift cards for the program and many did.  
As he sat at his desk last Thursday, Cass was writing the names of students on sticky notes and pairing them with gift cards according to their requests. He is handing those out this week.
Once that is complete, Cass says he wants to incentivize students on ICU to get off and stay off. To do that, he will begin this semester to reward students who have been on ICU but have quickly gotten off the list. He said he will probably put the names of those students in a drawing and give out a couple of cards each week until the end of the school year.
“You had some missing assignments, but you came in, you worked with the teachers, you maybe even came in on a Friday morning and you got everything done, so now you’re back to where you need to be,” Cass explained.
While Cass says it is too early to gauge the success of the effort, he has noticed some things starting to change. He said a number of students habitually on ICU are now starting to “figure that out” and are keeping current with their assignments.
“That, to me,” he said, “is what helps you further along in life is how are you going to remedy that situation? Everyone makes mistakes, but does it define you and you just keep doing it?”
Cass says veteran staff members also tell him that in years past there have been two to three times the current number on ICU.
“There are a lot of variables to be considered,” noted Cass, “but it’s a positive sign.”
Another indication of success came when the school offered extra credit to students who attended parent/teacher conferences March 1 with their parents. That resulted in nearly double the attendance in one night of conferences over last fall’s two-night conference.
“Kids were pulling their parents in saying, ‘Hey, I want some extra credit,’” said Cass.
The principal is quick to share credit for the program with staff members, some of whom make up a team working on creating a culture of achievement in the school.
“It takes everyone,” said Cass, noting that  several teachers have worked on creating incentives in their classrooms and parents have been cooperative and helpful as well. He commended football coaches Dave Williams and Russ Evans who have been having daily meetings with players in an effort to create a positive team culture.
While emphasizing there are still consequences for students who don’t complete class assignments, Cass hopes the incentive program will give students positive reasons for staying off the ICU list.
Meanwhile, even as it moves into Phase 3 of its implementation, the initiative still remains unnamed.
Perhaps “Operation Donut Drop” would be good for a start!

 

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